Barren Warren

Summary: Pitch captures Jack and turns him into a Pooka. While the other Guardians work to turn him back into a human spirit, Jack has to learn how to control his Pooka body with Bunnymund as his mentor.

Chapter 1

Jack had been enjoying his time since Pitch's defeat. After today's
snowball fight in Burgess, he'd started to head back to his favorite
lake to take a good long rest before heading to see North. The man had
become like a grandfather to him in these past few months, and since
Christmas was in a month, Jack thought he would offer a hand with the
last few toy based issues. North had insisted that the boy stay with
him, but Jack had politely declined. He needed his freedom, and being
cooped up in a workshop for ten months out of the year wasn't going to
fly with the ice spirit.

Walking down the deer path that lead to
his favorite frozen pond, Jack allowed his thoughts to wander to his
fellow guardians. He remembered how well they'd taken him in, even after
all the mayhem he'd caused over the time he'd known them. Tooth was
more than happy to sit with him while they reviewed his memories, going
through every blasted heart wrenching thought that returned to Jack
about his past life, and tending to the minor fallout the boy
experienced (despite his best attempts to cover it). Sandy had given him
fun dreams ever since the big battle, and for once he didn't have to
worry about a dreamless sleep. North had offered him a new home with the
Russian man at Santoff Claussen, which Jack was still debating on
taking. Rumor had it the man had designed a whole room for the kid with
everything he could have imagined- from old fashioned toys to new video
games. Jack didn't know if it was right to hold himself away from people
this long, but it was a very tempting offer.

And then there was Bunnymund…

The
rabbit had been a good friend in the past few months, and served as a
big brother figure to the boy. Jack was beginning to feel something
different rise in his chest every time he was in the Pooka's presence.
He couldn't quite place it, but it felt like he was going to puke from
his throat area when the Pooka looked at him. He tried to ignore it at
first, thinking it was just food poisoning, but-

A large, blunt
object hit the back of Jack's head, knocking the boy to the ground. A
familiar dark figure gathered the boy into his arms and quickly
disappeared into a dark portal. The dazed Jack regained his strength as
his head cleared, gripping his staff tightly as he was thrown onto the
cold floor of a dank lair. He felt his arm hit first, hearing a light
snap as he landed roughly. His good arm found its way to the floor to
push himself upwards, then to tend to its injured sibling. A quick
survey of the area showed his location was none other than Pitch's
abode.

"Where are you?!" Jack barked, knowing full well that the
Nightmare King wouldn't be kind to his youthful pain in the rear. A deep
chuckle resonated through the chamber.

"What's the matter, Jack? Are you frightened?" Pitch's voice slithered through the lair, causing the ice spirit to shiver.

"Why? Should I be?" Jack mocked, knowing full well that he couldn't take Pitch on by himself.

"Oh
my! So feisty! You were always the fun one, weren't you, Jack?" Pitch
practically moaned into his ear as Jack felt the large hand of the man
find its way to Jack's less sore shoulder. Jack spun around quickly,
nearly losing his balance as he tried to freeze the man in his place.

"I'm
not afraid of you!" Jack growled as his eyes darted around the room,
trying to get a good grasp on the Nightmare King's position before
firing. At the rate he was going, he was going to sap his energy before
he even got a shot in.

"Oh, but you should be." Pitch said as he
used his powers to slam the younger spirit against the far wall,
generating a sickening crack from the blue clad teenager. Jack gasped as
he hit the wall, sliding down the cold stone to the floor. Before he
could regain his composure, he felt the burning darkness slam against
his wrists, holding him to the wall. Jack thrashed around as best he
could, but to no avail. He managed to pry his frustrated teary lids open
to see the grotesque smirk emanating from Pitch's lips casting a new
wave of vomit worthy cringing through the boy's body.

"I
don't think so." Pitch said as he reached his pale hand towards the
boy's head. Jack jerked his head to the side, but didn't avoid the grim
fingers from finding his head.

"What are you doing?" Jack gasped as Pitch's fingertips glowed with a green light. Pitch smiled as he replied.

"Just
a little experiment." The Nightmare King replied. Jack's head exploded
in heat, making the ice spirit scream in pain as the Nightmare King cast
his spell. Jack felt his bones rearranging themselves, stretching and
twisting in unusual shapes. Numbness started to take over his body from
his feet upwards as Jack felt his skin tingle. Darkness entered his mind
not long after the numbness reached his head.

The
Guardians were cautious as they padded their way into Pitch's lair. The
obvious set up for an ambush wasn't enough to make them turn back. If
Pitch's message to North was any indication of the youngest Guardian's
whereabouts, they needed to at least investigate the dark lair of the
Nightmare King.

"Maybe the old horror story was lying?" Bunnymund
suggested as he walked behind North with his ears raised high, trying to
pick up on the tiniest sounds of assailants. Pitch's fortress had to be
crawling with Nightmares by this time of night, and Bunny would be
royally ticked if they thought they'd get the better of the four
Guardians by sneaking up on them.

"It's always possible, but
unlikely, my friend." North replied, his swords drawn and ready for any
fight that wandered their way. Leave it to Pitch to make the most guest
hostile lair in history. There was barely enough light to see where you
were stepping, and what little was granted had to be granted by Manny
through the cracks in the fortress walls. Thankfully, there was still a
giant, gaping hole in the side of the mountain where Pitch's Nightmare
would return each night. It provided a fair bit of light in the
Nightmare King's throne room, courtesy of an 'unexplained' ice avalanche
a few months back. That very incident was probably the precursor to
their trip here- Jack. Blasted brat didn't know when to keep his tricks
to himself! Now the Nightmare King had captured the kid!

"And
Frostbite?" Bunnymund growled, displeased that his normally restful
offseason was interrupted by Jack Frost. The cute little ice spirit was
nothing more than a pain in his side, and always addressed him as the
'Easter Kangaroo'.

"Pitch said the brat fell in here during a trick, but I doubt that." North replied.

"Knowing
Pitch's past, Jack could be strapped to a table right now." North
replied. Pitch had a fetish for scaring people, and he would
occasionally catch some poor fool and torment them with close calls and
mock surgical setups. Surely enough, it worked. People believed in the
Boogeyman again because he scared them out of their pants.

"But
Jack's too strong to-" Tooth was cut off as a blur of grey and white
sped past them, nearly knocking Sandy down from his floating position.
Bunnymund skidded to a stop as the others watched where he was going. He
knelt down and started to tend to a small form on the floor of the far
wall. The remaining three Guardians rushed to see what the grey Pooka
was so interested in.

On the floor, curled into a fetal position,
was a small white Pooka. North couldn't believe was he was seeing, but
Tooth and Sandy quickly joined the grey rabbit in investigating the
small being. North approached the other Guardians, kneeling to see the
small rabbit. They had no markings, so familial identification wasn't
possible. Judging by his coloration, this Pooka didn't even seem to be
part of the southern clans.

"We need to get out of here."
Bunnymund said grimly, fearful of this Pooka staying in Pitch's lair.
Pitch caused the massacre that left Bunnymund alone all those years ago,
and Bunny refused to let him steal this last soul from him. The years
alone in the barren warren had left the rabbit resigned to an immortal
life of wondering what he could have done different that day. All these
years of regret that seemed to subside to resignation of grave bedded
memories had vanished in a moment when he saw this tiny, living Pooka.
He swore he'd protect this last chance of hope, even if it still meant
the species was functionally gone.

"What about Jack?" Tooth asked as she ruffled the small rabbit's top most fur.

"Oh,
don't worry." A slimy cool voice penetrated the room. The Guardians
shot the Nightmare King a unified dirty look as he glided down the steps
of the throne.

"Where's Jack?!" North barked, his swords drawn and ready to fight for the young man's safety.

"He's apparently in good hands." Pitch replied curtly.

"What did you do to him?" Bunnymund demanded as he held the small rabbit tightly to his chest.

"Nothing
you haven't seen already. Now please, get out of my lair. Your business
here is over." Pitch announced as he turned to leave again. The
Guardians looked to North, who motioned for them to gather the rabbit
and get out of the lair while they still had a chance. Bunnymund grabbed
the tiny white bundle and started to run with all his strength towards
the sleigh. His rabbit holes could mange him alone, but carrying
anything larger than a basket was nearly impossible without hitting his
head.

They were almost out the door when Tooth noticed the young
ice spirit's staff discarded on the floor of the throne room. She went
to gathered it, but noticed shreds of blue and brown fabric scattered
around the stone. She had to wait to tell the others as she fluttered
out the door to catch up.

-Santoff Claussen-

The
small rabbit had been placed in the medical wing of North's workshop
and was being carefully tended to by the elves and yetis. North, Tooth
and Sandy discussed what the next move was, and how to find Jack since
North's globe wasn't working on the ice spirit. It kept detecting that
he was right there in the shop, but the only object of his that was in
the Germanic wooden decorated walls was his precious staff.

Bunnymund,
true to his personal promise, sat vigilant at the young rabbit's side.
The white ball of fluff had yet to awaken, and the longer it took, the
more Bunny worried. Such a young Pooka in the hands of Pitch was
concerning to say the least, but there was no explanation as to how the
smaller fluffy being had arrived at the dark, dank lair of the Nightmare
King.

North entered the room to check on the rabbit after four
hours of discussion and small talk. Bunny hadn't twitched a muscle, and
North managed to accidentally startle the rabbit from his thoughts about
the Pooka race and longing memories of his own family many years ago.

"Any
change, my friend?" North asked as he took a seat opposite the rabbit.
Bunny smiled for a moment before rubbing his eyes and shaking his head.

"Nope.
Little fluffy here's still out cold. Any news on the annoyance?"
Bunnymund replied. North breathed deeply as he hoped the younger rabbit
would have some news or at least an idea of how he fell into the
Nightmare King's hands. This rabbit couldn't have been older than Jack,
which was all the more reason to worry about him. North had grown very
used to the boy coming in and out of the workshop as he pleased,
stealing cookies or cookie dough when he was hungry. North had even
begun to prepare a room for the boy, and was planning to ask him to join
him in Santoff Claussen in the off season, but Jack refused. The
teenager said he was too free to ever really feel at home in a cooped up
workshop. North tried not to take it personally, but it still hurt to
know the boy didn't want to stay with him. His disappearance weighed on
North much like a parent would to any child.

"Not a peep. The
globe still says he's here. I think it's stuck." North replied, knowing
that Bunny hadn't been a part of that discussion.

"So what are we
gonna do?" Bunnymund asked as he removed a boomerang from his satchel
and examined it for the eighth time that evening.

"We keep looking. Maybe he got shoved into the staff?" North offered. Bunnymund chuckled at the other man.

"Would
seem right! He always hated being confined!" Bunnymund laughed as the
mood dissipated. North joined in the awkward laughter, his belly jumping
with laughter as he chuckled harder and harder.

"Oh! And when we
get him out, he'll have rabbit ears!" North joined in the fun, totally
ignoring the resting charge in the bed between them.

"Oh, that
would be a treat! Then he couldn't call me 'Kangaroo'!" E. Aster laughed
back. A tiny moan interrupted their chortling. They looked down in
unison to see the small Pooka twitching in his bed. White furry eyelids
began to pry themselves open as he twisted, his forehead knotting and
unknotting as he opened his bright blue eyes to stare at his saviors.

"Hey
there, little guy." Bunnymund spoke, his voice gentle and easy. He'd
forgotten when the last time he spoke to someone like this, but it had
been far too long.

"Wha-?" The small rabbit's voice mumbled out, barely intelligible to the two mens ears.

"Oh,
good! We thought you'd never wake up!" North added in. The small rabbit
raised his hand to block the bright light above him, moaning in minor
pain as the light ground into the eyes.

"What?" The small Pooka replied. Bunnymund silenced himself as North kept smiling.

"What is your name, little one?" North asked, receiving a questioning look from the young rabbit.

"North?"
The rabbit replied, his tiny voice finally coming through. North froze
and Bunnymund straightened himself in realization.

"Oh no…" Bunnymund said as he reached forward to examine the sweet rabbit that was still lying on the bed.

"Jack?" North gasped, completely sideswiped by the realization.

"Yeah?
Who'd you think I was?" Jack replied as he started to sit upwards.
Bunnymund offered a strong arm to help the injured ice spirit sit up.
Jack's hand flew to his chest as it stung. He then noticed the thick
padding of fur that covered his entire body.

"Jack, stay calm."
North said as the white Pooka started to thrash against the blankets.
Jack managed to kick them off and observed the pristine white fluff that
covered his body. His breathe caught in his lungs, strangling him with
stress filled confusion.

"WHAT- WHAT IS THIS?!" Jack yelled.
Bunnymund had to bend his ears to prevent his eardrums from being
shattered. North jumped forward and gripped the young rabbit, who was
now fighting to get out of bed. Jack beat him to the edge of the padded
surface, but tripped over his now enlarged feet.

"Jack! Please! Calm down!" North ordered, trying to get the small rabbit to relax as the epic breakdown began.

"Calm
down?! Calm down?! I'm covered in fur! How am I suppose to be calm?!"
Jack panicked. North released the young Pooka as he tried to escape,
only to be caught by Bunnymund instead.

"Jack, stop this. We can
fix this." Bunnymund encouraged. Jack gave a few more mediocre kicks
before tucking his head into the larger Pooka's chest. Bunnymund ran a
hand over the smaller rabbit's ears as North excused himself to the
archives of Santoff Claussen to search for a cure. Jack shivered against
the larger Pooka, who in return gathered the small rabbit into his arms
and placed him on the bed.

"I hate this…" Jack said as he clung
to Bunny, who only let go of the younger Pooka to grab the covers that
had been kicked off earlier and wrap them around both inhabitants of the
bed.

"I know, but just calm down. No need to get so worried about
all this. North will find a fix or we'll ask Manny about it." Bunny
said as he cradled the tiny rabbit in his arms. Jack shivered and shook a
few more times before nuzzling into the thick fur of Bunnymund.

Bunny
watched the younger Pooka drift off for a few minutes before resting
his head on the pillow. He knew in the back of his mind that Jack
couldn't stay in the frozen north for too long, or he'd freeze from the
weather. Pooka bodies weren't made to withstand temperatures below
temperate regions, so they would have to nudge the young Pooka into
either staying with Tooth or in Bunnymund's warren. Despite their past
misgivings, Bunny had begun to enjoy having the brat around. It was
almost like having a family again- with Tooth and North as the mother
and father, Sandy as the wise cousin, and Manny as the grandfather who
just laughed at everything they did. And Jack? Jack was somewhere
between annoying younger brother and potential sparring partner.

Bunnymund's
thoughts were lost as he relaxed into the bedding, his arms
protectively curled around the ball of white fluff nestled against him.
Dreamless slumber took in less than a minute.

Write a Review
Did you enjoy my story? Please let me know what you think by leaving a review! Thanks,
ABluewolf

kikam13:
Do you ever watch a movie whatever movie that maybe and you literally yell at the person on the screen yelling at them to not do the thing they are going to do anyway I’m literally doing that with this story. I honestly love this book so much I can’t stop reading and I’m just waiting and excited...

Rosalyn Morello:
Please update. I really love your story. You should keep writing. Your story is wonderful. So please continue this lovely story. Some people are getting mad and using profane language in the comments sections because you haven't updated for a while.

Paty Rubio Navarrete:
Its targeted suspens and mistery i know when I see a book its going to be a great book hope it gets better and hope not to put it down till the end and going to see if I can get my hold on more books like this one

Other Collections

About Us:

Inkitt is the world’s first reader-powered book publisher, offering an online community for talented authors and book lovers. Write captivating stories, read enchanting novels, and we’ll publish the books you love the most based on crowd wisdom.